


Kiki's Dance

by MurphysLaw



Category: Dollhouse
Genre: Body Swap, Ivy is the biggest Victor/Sierra shipper, Multi, Multiple Pov, No explanation is going to be given, Use your imagination, Victor and Sierra's love, Well more like me not mentioning science because I know it will be incorrect, incorrect science
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 12:30:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7574110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MurphysLaw/pseuds/MurphysLaw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kiki gets stuck in Victor's body. The results are... interesting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kiki's Dance

"I want to start off by saying this is not my fault."

DeWitt sighed. Today had been bad enough, the last thing she wanted was more bad news. But that was the way things went around here. She swore no other branch of the Dollhouse had to deal with the same amount of rotten luck as her.

"What's not your fault Topher?" It took all her will power not to let out a weary "what the hell did you mess up this time?" to slip out her mouth. After all, she was the boss. She needed to be professional. God knew no one else would be.

Topher gulped, like he was choosing his words but she knew him well enough to know he was just stalling. Then the young man in front of her began to explain the situation with excessive hand movements.

"You know when my remote wipe swapped Echo's and Victor's personalities. Giving Echo Terry Karrens and Victor Kiki." How could she forget? It had only happened a couple of hours ago. "Not my fault as well. Completely unique situation. Which may explain why I'm having trouble removing them." He trailed off as DeWitt stood up straighter, an act she didn't think was possible in till it was done. There was a lot of that around here.

"Are you saying that psychopath is trapped in Echo's body." Her voice was sharp. But Topher shook his head. It surprised her how much relief she felt at that. She always had a soft spot for Echo.

"Worse. Much worse."

"What could be worse than that?"

Topher pointed through the glass door showing his office. Following it with her eyes, she saw an harassed looking Ballard talking to a very animated Victor.

"Yes. You're seeing that right. Kiki is trapped in Victor."

For a second neither spoke. Of course this had to happen. She grasp for a word, any word.

"Oh bollocks," finally came out. Then she found it fitted the situation perfectly and left it at that.

*

The full length mirror wasn't usually in Topher's office. In fact, he would prefer it if it wasn't there at all. Not only was it a distraction while he tried to sort this whole mess out, the man (girl?) standing in front of it wasn't helping.

But DeWitt had restrained Victor to his office in till Kiki was wiped. Something about this whole thing being his fault. Not that it was, but everyone here seemed too thick to realise that.

He tried to concentrate on the screen in front of him, one hand in a bag of chips, but a high pitched voice refused to let him focus. Seeing as Victor usually had a much nicer low voice, Topher decided Kiki was putting it on.

"I- don't understand." That was the fifth time she said it- Topher had been keeping count. It turned out that five was one time to many. Before Ballard could open his mouth to give the same damn explanation again, Topher swivelled around on his chair.

"What's there not to understand? You were imprinted into Echo, I tried a remote wipe and boom! You got transferred into Victor who you are currently looking at in that stupid mirror."

Kiki blinked slowly. Ballard shot him a sharp look before putting a comforting hand on her large shoulder. Rolling his eyes, Topher turned back to his screen. He could still hear the two of them talking to each other in the background. No doubt Ballard telling her to ignore him even though he managed to get it into her slow head.

He was never going to get this fixed with them here.

"So I just got zapped into someone else?" she sounded tearful. At least it was better than the I don't understand tape. If he hadn't made her, he would think she was doing it on purpose. But no, she was really that slow at grasping things. He wondered why anyone would pay for this.

"His names Victor. He's another one of our actives her." Ballard said slowly. Topher rolled his eyes. If it was up to him, he wouldn't have explained the whole Dollhouse thing to her. At this rate, she would be long gone before she understood any of it. But Ballard thought she should know.

"Actives? They're who you put the different personalities on?" She had her I'm getting this voice on. He programmed it into her but he didn't think it would be so annoying.

"See, it's not that complicated." He could imagine Ballard patting her on the head.

"And me- the original me that is- agreed to have my personality copied?" There was a brief silence and Topher wondered if he should break the news that she wasn't real. Just something out of a horny professor and a genius head.

"Of course." Ballard lied smoothly. So he didn't think she could handle everything then. That thought brought a grim smile to his lips.

Silence settled on the room. Topher sent a quiet thanks upwards, even though he didn't believe in any God. His line of work crushed any lingering doubts of that he had. But the quiet was short lived. Moments after getting lost in a world he could understand, he was pulled back into the one he couldn't. He wanted to scream.

"Paul?" asked Kiki. Her voice was only just above a whisper, like she thought it wouldn't distract him.

"Yes Kiki?" He heard her edging closer to the handler. She wasn't as subtle as she thought she was.

"What the hell am I wearing?" Topher's hands froze above his keyboard. OK, he hadn't been expecting that. Though thinking back he did program her as shallow, so it shouldn't o surprise him. Maybe because she was in a different body he thought she wouldn't care. After all, it wasn't like anyone would recognise her.

"What?" Ballard finally got out. Unseen, the younger man smiled at his colleges awkwardness.

"Victor, or whatever his name was, must of been pretty boring if he dressed like this."

"He was on assignment at the time." Ballard told her, slowly, like he was trying to work out where this was going. Obviously, the ex FBI agent was out of his depth here. The thought made Topher grin to himself.

"Well, when I first came in I remember a big dressing room..." Looking at one of the reflections from the computer screen, he saw her using the sly smile he programmed in. It seemed to work better on Victors features.

At least Ballard had now caught up.  It was like watching a puppy look in the mirror and wonder why he couldn't touch the reflection. "Dewitt said you couldn't leave this room."

Topher could bash his head in, he really could.

"But Paul," began Kiki with a whine. Nobody should expect a genius to work in these conditions.

For the second time in twenty minutes, he spun his chair around. "Dewitt won't mind, _Paul_. Why don't you take Kiki down to find a new outfit. Now."

Ballard opened his mouth to argue, but Kiki seized her opportunity. Quickly, she grabbed his arm and began to pull Ballard towards the door. An easier feet now she was in Victor's body, immune to the man's protests.

As the door clicked shut behind them, Topher let out a sigh of relief. Grin on face, he turned back to the screen.

That should keep them occupied for a couple of hours. 

*

Paul Ballard was pretty sure he spent most of his life now waiting.

Waiting for Echo's next assignment. Waiting in the van to see if anything is going wrong. Waiting for it to be over so he can see her again.

And waiting outside this dressing room.

After reassuring the wardrobe man that Kiki and him could be down here, and yes, they did have DeWitt's permission, (both lies, but he used to work for the FBI- he was an expert in them), he got left outside on those hard plastic chairs and Kiki got a makeover.

He would of thought with all the money the Dollhouse had grabbed from their clients, they would be able to buy nicer chairs for the handlers. Or maybe they wanted to give them the feeling of being stuck in a shopping mall while waiting for a family member to pick out clothes. Bored and irritated, but it was their obligation to suffer though.

This time though, he wasn't even sure why he was here. It wasn't like Dewitt had ordered him to look after her, nor was he Victor's handler. It could of been because she used to be in Echo he felt responsible for her. But, more likely, he suspected it was the way she clung onto him in the club, so sure he that now he was here everything was going to be OK. A reminder that he was helping people and the Dollhouse had to be brought down before something like this could happen again.

But after he flicked through his third magazine- this one about boats, he didn't even like boats, they made him seasick- he was beginning to wonder what was taking so long. Every time he had came in with Echo, he usually only got onto his second. He wondered if he should ask Victor's handler how long he usually took.

But just as that began to seem like a valid plan, the wardrobe opened up, and the wardrobe girl followed by Kiki came out.

"Sorry this took so long. She wanted something you'll like her in." The girl winked at him, before disappearing into the curtains. Trying to puzzle out what she meant, Paul stared after her. Kiki having a crush on him in Echo he could get behind- but in Victor it was a bit too much.

In front of him Kiki coughed, and Paul pulled his eyes away from the closed curtain- and blinked.

He knew Victor was a good looking man, after all he was in the Dollhouse, but he never appreciated it before. Maybe because Kiki was in him- and that sounded all levels of wrong- or maybe the wardrobe did something to his make-up, but Victor looked more feminine. While he was still obviously male, the flat chest and wide shoulders where still present, Paul would have a hard time mistaking her as male. Everything from her slightly heeled boots- and he didn't even want to know why the Dollhouse stocked them so large- to the tight jeans and vest combo to the way they stilled her short hair gave her just worked. 

Realising he was looking at her, Paul quickly tore his eyes away from her ( _Victor's_ he reminds himself, sternly) body to her face. She was biting her lip. Paul had never had her down as insecure- not from the way she danced at that club, or the way she spoke with confidence, or the way she walked that said she was hot and she knew it- but maybe being thrown into a body of the wrong gender did that to you.

"Does this look OK? Because I asked to look like a women but I'm not sure they know what they're doing. I  can always go back in and-"

"You look good," cut in Paul. "Better than good. Beautiful." Even as the rush of words tumbled out his mouth, Paul was cursing himself. It was jumbled.

Kiki looked at him warily. "Are you messing with me?"

"No!" Paul protested, holding his hand out automatically. Slowly Kiki took it. More solid and larger than he was used to, but soft, like all dolls hands. "Don't you trust me?"

Kiki smiled up to him, and it was still up even though they were now practically the same height. "With my life."

*

"And she said 'with my life'?" asked Topher. Paul gritted his teeth together. He was getting the familiar urge to throttle the younger man.

"Yes. I've already told you this." The look on Topher's face when he heard the anger in the other man's voice was priceless, and sent shivers down his spine. But it was gone in a flash, replaced by the usual infuriating smile. He held up his hands in a mock surrender.

"Don't shoot me special agent man. Just making sure."

"Well now you're sure," he growled out. "What does this tell us?"

Topher turned back to his computer screen and began to type. "Nothing new. Well nothing interesting and new."

Paul spread his hands out on the younger man's desk and lent forwards on them. Making himself look bigger and scarier. From the way Topher lent away to increase the distance between them told Paul it was working.

"What do you mean?" He lowered his voice. Topher made an audible swallow.

"It just means instead of just swapping the imprint I also swapped the deep program. Except more complicated than that. But I doubt you would understand. Doesn't actually tell me how to actually go about doing the wipe."

Paul ignored the younger man's jibe, and lent back. Breathing normally gain, Topher went back to his work. Nothing bad then.

"Wait... what about all those imprints Alpha put in Echo's head?"

Topher sighed. "Does nobody listen to me here? Those are gone. I erased them remember?"

"Let's say they didn't." Looking like he thought this was below his pay grade, Topher began to explain in a very slow voice.

"Then they would be stored in a part of the brain we don't have excess to and wouldn't be transferred. Except we have control over the whole brain making your question pointless. Now can you please let me work."

Standing up straight, Paul left the office. Not because Topher told him to, but because he had no more questions.

*

The dolls walked beneath Kiki, unaware or unbothered by her watching them from above. Almost like God, she thought. They obviously didn't know about the personality imprints or they wouldn't be walking around so calmly. They would be trying to escape from this place.

When she was at college, she heard rumours about the Dollhouse- everyone had. If you were rich, you could pay for a perfect human. But never once did she think it was real. But she- the real her- must of sold her personality to them. After all, college wasn't cheap by any stretch by any stretch of the imagination. While her daddy paid for her tuition, he didn't buy her all the clothes she wanted.

She couldn't remember anything like the chair though. The computer geek- Tofu or something- must of deleted it, she puzzled out, grimly. But if he could delete that, what else could they take? Quickly, Kiki pushed that thought away. Thinking like that would get her nowhere.

Instead she looked back down. It was peaceful even just to watch it. In the middle of the large open room a couple of the dolls where doing some sort of yoga, while others walked from the massage tables to the art rooms that Kiki knew where hidden behind the curtains. Some turned left toward a big set of doors Paul said led to the sleeping areas.

And at the far corner there was a doll sitting on a couch, picture book open in her lap. She was beautiful, but then again all the dolls where. That didn't tell Kiki why she couldn't take her eyes off her.

She had the strangest feeling that she knew the women below, but she wasn't sure where from. A long time ago and now at the same time. There was something else as well. Just looking at her made her troubles drift away. She felt lighter even. Like she could do anything as long as that doll was by her side.

She felt... better.

"That's Sierra." Kiki jumped, and quickly twisted around. A girl with long brown hair was looking at her. Her eyes looked half curious, half blank and it terrified Kiki more than any of the equipment she had seen in the last day.

"You scared me. How do you manage to walk so quietly?" The girl ignored her question.

"The girl you were looking at is called Sierra."

Kiki blinked. "She is? She makes me feel..." Then she found she didn't have the words. She wasn't even sure why she was telling the girl this anyway.

"You love her." She said it like it was a fact.

Kiki threw up her hands. "Whoa there! I don't even _know_ here. Plus I don't even like girls!" The other women just blinked at her like she was slow. Kiki was used to that look. After all it had been shot at her enough time in her life.

"Victor loved her. And now you're Victor so you love her too."

"I think you'll find Victor's me." Kiki questioned why she was even talking to the girl. Obviously she was special. Though why she was here and not outside was anyone guess. Maybe she was a workers daughter.

"I was you." And that is when it struck Kiki. Of course. She's a doll. Paul had explained they had to keep them 'blank'. At the time she thought that sounded creepy, and now she knew she was exactly right.

"Echo?" she asked.

"Yes?" Echo looked back down and Kiki followed her gaze. "Sierra's sad."

And that just broke Kiki's heart even though she kept telling herself she didn't know this girl. All she wanted to do was make her ok again. It scared her how strong that urge was. "Why is she sad?"

"She missed you." And then Echo walked off, down the staircase. She didn't even glance back. Part of Kiki wanted to follow the strange girl down and go to Sierra, and make her happy again. A larger part of her told her she should wait for Paul to get back. After all, she was under strict instructions not to go down there.

She wasn't at all surprised when the smaller part won. After all, it had her heart.

* 

"Hello."

Sierra looked up, and upon seeing the other women, realised a grin so beautiful all coherent thought left Kiki's mind. Then she remembered the smile wasn't for her- it was for Victor. Disappointment filled her belly. It lay there heavily, but Kiki decided she'll win Sierra around. She wondered if the girl liked dancing then  decided this didn't look like the sort of thing dolls did.

"Hello Victor." Kiki sat down next to her, and automatically reached forward to tuck a lose strand of hair behind the other girls face. Her hand was already away before Kiki even realised she had done anything. Sierra put her book away. For a second, Kiki thought she was going to snuggle up to her, but Sierra didn't. Kiki pretended not to feel disappointed.

"I'm not Victor. I'm Kiki- but I'm using Victor's body."

Sierra frowned. Obviously not all the dolls where as well informed as Echo. Kiki waved it away and carried on talking before the other girl could start asking questions Kiki would never have the answers to.

"It doesn't matter." She looked around. "So, what do you dolls do for fun?"

Sierra's frown deepened. Damn, she just wanted to make the other girl feel better, but all she seemed to be doing was make it worse and worse. Kiki tried explaining herself.

"It's just you seemed sad. So I wanted to cheer you up."

Sierra seemed to understand that one. "I'm happy now you are here."

And that may of been the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her, even if it wasn't really about her. She wondered why she spent years going from shitty boyfriend to shitty boyfriend if people like Sierra existed.

"You mean that?" Placing her hand on Kiki's knee, Sierra nodded. It was warm, and made her heart beat painfully in her chest. Much better than those grabby hands from men in clubs who saw her as a piece of meat.

Looking into Sierra's warm brown eyes, something struck Kiki. _I'm a lesbian_ she thought. And, oddly, it made sense. Nobody she ever been with had felt like this. Right there, Kiki decided she was going to give Sierra the whole date experience- or at least as much as you can get in a closed off building with no windows.

"Do you want something to eat?" asked Kiki. She didn't know what time of day it was- there was no windows after all- but you couldn't go wrong with food.

"I like breakfast." Kiki blinked. She'd already been here for a day? It felt like less time than that.

"You can have my strawberries." Sierra shot her another smile. Even though Kiki was prepared, the aftermath still left her stunned, though this time she was able to give a weak smile back.

"They are my favourite," said Sierra, standing up. Copying, Kiki held out her hand, and the other girl took it- the touch sent tingles up her arm- and began to lead the way towards the dining area.

"I know." She didn't know how, but she did. They must be soul mates. Even if it was someone else's soul.

*

DeWitt frowned at the body lying on Topher's sofa. It let out a slight snore, before rolling over. If it wasn't careful, it would fall off it. After all, the sofa was not made for sleeping but apparently the poor girl had freaked out about sleeping in a pod, even when they explained the roof would stay open.

"This is going on for too long," she informed Topher. In exasperation he threw up his hands.

"Well this isn't exactly a common occurrence seeing as most branches don't even know remote wipes are possible. Let alone through the dolls bio sequence. I'm kind of working with nothing her."

They were always working with nothing. DeWitt turned back to the figure. It had to be Victor didn't it? They couldn't of imprinted Lake, or X-Ray, or another one of the countless male dolls at their disposal. It had to be Victor.

"The other branches can't know about this. They think I'm incompetent as it is."

She would like to see one of them run this branch. They would crash and burn in a week before running back to her and begging her to take her job back. Except that wouldn't happen. If anyone else was running this place, Echo would be in the attic and Mr Karrens would of been fixed without any of that moral rubbish getting in the way.

"How soon can you fix this?"

Topher looked at the computer screen before turning his gaze back on her.

"Two, three day if I'm lucky and not chasing _another_ dead end. Of course, I've still got to make new imprints-"

"You have 24 hours. If it's not done by then I'm atticing Victor. Am I clear?" She didn't look at the body. She already knew she couldn't do it. But Topher didn't.

"24 hours! Not even I can do something like this in-"

DeWitt cut over him, smoothly. "24 hours."

*

Paul looked around the canteen. Spotting Victor, he walked up to him, taking a seat to his right.

"This is the best food I've ever tasted." Kiki grinned, offering him a bit of pancake on her fork. Accepting it, Paul let her feed him.

"That is good." He agreed. Much better than the food he cooked himself at home. For as long as he can remember it's been five minute ready meals he stuck in the oven after a long shift. He wondered if there was a rule against handlers eating down here with the dolls.

"It's kinda wasted on the dolls, don't you think?" She lowered her voice, like she thought one of them might hear and complain. "They're all kinda empty... except Echo."

Paul cocked his head. So she had seen it as well. "Echo?" He questioned, testing how much the girl knew.

"Yeah. She just seems to different to the others. Aware like the others aren't. Wait. I'm not getting her into trouble am I?"

Paul shook his head. "Of course not."

Even so, Kiki changed the subject. Paul wondered how Echo managed to get even complete strangers to protect her like that.

"Was this body- _Victor_ \- blank like them before you imprinted him?"

While Paul wanted to find out what Kiki thought about Echo, he understood she wasn't going to say anymore. "Yes. He was."

Kiki shook her head in disbelief. "Why would someone chose for this to happen to them? It's horrible."

He could of said the company line, that it doesn't matter because they wouldn't remember any of this, but instead he told her his opinion. "I have no idea. But obviously they had a strong enough reason to give themselves up."

He thought about Mellie, giving herself up to forget the pain of losing a child. He wondered what Victor gave up his body because. What Echo had wanted forget. They didn't write that sort of things in the files he handled.

Kiki thought about what he said for a moment. As she did, she played with her food on the plate. Down one side she had placed all her strawberries.

"Sierra's on assignment."

Kiki's fork froze. "She is? I thought she was asleep. Those pods give me the heebie jeebies though." Carefully, she picked up one of the strawberries and placed it in her mouth. She softly smiled as she bit down on it. "They're my favourite too." She took a moment just to savour the taste.

"Are you going out with Echo?" At Pauls shocked face she backtracked. "I mean on assignment."

"Echo's got to heal." He cursed himself, but Kiki didn't seem to notice. Instead she reached for Pauls hand, a smile on her face.

"Good. You're the only person who seems human here."

*

"22 hours and 34 minutes," said Topher, proudly.

"What?" asked Ivy. She was preparing the machines for Sierra's wipe and wasn't partially bothered by her bosses revelation.

"Dewitt gave me 24 hours. I solved it in under 23. Do keep up Ivy."

Ivy rolled her eyes. She could keep up fine. In fact she could run this whole place on her own. And Topher would know that too if he didn't have his head stuck so far up his ass. But she was saved answering by the lift opening and Sierra stepping out, half hidden by her handler.

Today she was a shy geeky girl who wanted nothing more than to sleep with her boss. Ivy had even helped to make the imprint. Not that Topher knew that, of course. She valued her head- or her mind, which looking at Topher was the only thing he could really hurt.

Because he thought she was incapable of even the easiest jobs, Topher came over to take over Ivy before Ivy had a chance to wipe her. He grinned at Sierra and Ivy couldn't help feeling she was exactly his type. Beautiful, big glasses, and a brain that wasn't quite as big as his.

But before he could get her in the chair, Kiki poked Victor's head out of Topher's office. "Are you doing one of those mind wipey thingys?"

Topher sighed. "Can't you just stay where someone puts you?"  Exasperation leaked into his voice. Well, more exasperation, he always sounded annoyed at someone or other.

But it was too late. Kiki had already spotted Sierra. And she was exactly her type too. Ivy thought it was romantic how their love surpassed imprints. Even Topher couldn't wipe it from them. That was the kind of love people wrote books about.

"Hello," said Kiki like there was nobody else in the room. She knew about the imprints, but this was the first time had come face to face with one.

"Hi," whispered Sierra back, moving away from her handler to get a better look at Kiki. Behind her glasses, her eyes were wide.

Love was a beautiful thing to feel, thought Ivy as she watched them. Turning her gaze to Topher, she saw he clearly didn't feel the same thing.

"I'm Kiki." Her voice was lower than usual, closer to Victor's natural timbre.

"P-pearl." Kiki smiled at her, and Pearl copied, hers shyer. Ivy felt wrong that she was intruding on something so personal. Even so, she couldn't tear her gaze away.  

Kiki held out a strong hand. "Wanna come dance?" she asked, the same dazzling smile on her face.

Eagerly, Pearl nodded her head. Then she bit her lip. "I- I can't dance."

Doing an action with her head that Ivy suspected flicked her hair back when it was long, Kiki shrugged. "I'll teach you. It's easy. All about... feeling." She said the last word slowly, eyes trailing over the other women when she said it.

Pearl reached for her out stretched hand. Then she stopped again, blushing like she just remembered other people were in the room. She turned to Topher, not seeing Ivy shake her head. Like he would ever understood love.

"Can I go with him?" she asked Topher. Terrified if he said no. Terrified if he said yes.

"Her," butted in Kiki, "I'm a her."

Pearl's blush deepened. Kiki had already explained to Ivy the shock she felt at discovering she was a lesbian, and Ivy wondered if Pearl was going through the same thing now. Maybe they could talk about it after they exhausted themselves dancing. Suddenly the love Pearl had felt for her 'boss' must seem empty and meaningless.

"Can I go with her?" she correct herself. Ivy prayed that Topher would say yes. For once in his life have some heart.

He swallowed. "Ok. Go."

Squealing, Kiki grabbed Pearl's hand and tugged her into Topher's office. A second later, slow music began to play covering the quiet mummers of the two girls talking to each other.

He turned to Sierra's handler. "You can leave now. Just don't tell DeWitt."

The handler shook his head. "I've got to stay with her in till she is wiped."

"She's a shy lab assistant. I think I can handle her." The handler shot him a look that said exactly how good he thought Topher would be with a women. "Or Ivy. She could handle Sierra no problem."

Ivy rolled her eyes. This was probably the first time Topher saw her with worth other than to collect snacks. Surprisingly the handler nodded.

"If anything goes wrong , I'm blaming you." He said it in an ominous voice which, Ivy was pleased to note, was aimed at Topher. The handler left the room through the elevator.

That just left the two scientists. One of whom was staring at disbelief at other.  Topher turned around, and upon seeing Ivy's face, threw up his hands.

"What's that look for?" She carried on staring at him. "I have been known to do nice things! Anyway, it's not like they will even remember it."

Topher as human was a whole new level of scary.

*

Topher was locked out his own office. And it was all his own fault. A moment of weakness letting Victor and Sierra go off together. The music had increased, and all he could hear was an occasional unidentifiable noise.

So now he was stuck in the chair room with Ivy. And all they had to perform was one wipe. For the first time, Topher regretted speeding up the whole process.

The door opened, and Ivy came in, carrying a pile of snacks in her arms. She looked guilty, which she should.

"I asked you to get these over twenty minutes ago. How long does it..." His voice faded out as Boyd stepped into the room after her. He should of known: Ivy would never feel guilty for depriving him of his food. He swore. "That rat! He said he wouldn't tell DeWitt."

"Luckily for you he didn't," said Boyd, stepping further into the room, his face grim.

"Well he still told you!" complained Topher. Behind Boyd, Ivy added her unhelpful input.

" Technically you never told him not to." Topher sighed.

"Did anyone ask you?" The girl huffed, and threw him a bag of funyuns. Topher caught it, and opened it. He popped a chip into his mouth.

"No one asks you to say thank you but they still expect you to." Then she turned to a screen and began to do nothing in a way that made it look like she was doing something important. Topher turned to Boyd, who was watching their exchange with a single raised eyebrow.

"Don't worry. I've got the whole thing under control." Behind him, Ivy snorted. He ignored her.

"The whole thing?" Boyd asked. Topher frowned- he didn't like it when people questioned him. Everyone always seemed to forget he was a genius.

"Not a thing goes on in my kingdom without me knowing." He placed another funyun in his mouth to prove his point. Though he wasn't quite sure how it did.

"So you know Victor and Sierra are currently fucking in your office?"

"Of course I know- wait, what?" A chip fell out of his fingers before it reached his mouth. Ivy laughed behind him.

"Victor and Sierra are-" Topher waved him away. He didn't need to hear it twice. He twisted himself so he was facing a screen. Quickly he got his office CCTV up- and shut it off twice as fast.

"My couch," the young man moaned, weakly. Boyd came up behind him and patted him on the shoulder.

"You should of seen them earlier on the trampoline," added Ivy. Topher let out another high pitched moan. How could they? He had put his trust in them and this is how they repaid him?

"I'm going to have to burn all my stuff," he decides. Ivy- still looking smug- carried on.

"What did you think was going to happen?" she asks. Her pretence of doing something had been abandoned. Now she was basking in his uncomfortableness. He never trusted her.

"Dancing! Kiki was going to teach her to dance!" Even Boyd looked unimpressed with that one. "Crap. And I programmed her so dancing turned her on." He turned to Ivy, accusingly. "Why didn't you warn me?"

She shrugged, grin still on face. "I thought it would do them good. And like you said, it's not like they will remember."

"But I'll remember!" complains Topher, closing his eyes to see if it will wipe the memory. It doesn't. He decides to let out another whine for good measure.

"When they're finished, we'll wipe them. DeWitt never has to even know," said Boyd, probably trying to be comforting.

"Why can't we stop them now?"

Ivy laughed again. He was really beginning to find that annoying. "Do you really think a treatment would sound better than that?"

As if to back up her point, Sierra let out a particular loud moan that could be heard clearly, even over the music. Topher clasped his hands over his ears.  

Never was he going to be weak again.

*

Sierra had been wiped. Now it was Kiki's turn, but for some reason Ballard had insisted he had goodbye. Topher missed the days when the former F.B.I. agent only had creepy obsessions with the female dolls.

"Can you hurry up?" He called in, ignoring Ivy's eye roll. If this goes wrong he'll only have ten minutes to think of a new plan. Not that it was going to fail, of course.

Finally the two came out. Paul was holding Kiki's hand. Topher hoped they didn't try anything on his couch. Boyd had scheduled a burning on Tuesday, with only minimal convincing, and new equipment coming in later the same day.

"Are you ready for your treatment?" asked Ballard, letting go of her hand. Kiki nodded sitting down on the chair.

In a couple of seconds it was all over.

The chair lifted up, and the person on it echoed the familiar lines. "Did I fall asleep?"

Topher let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't that hard to work out in the end. All he had to do was stop other thinking the whole problem.

"For a while." _I wish._

"Can I go now?"

"If you like." _Please. Don't return for a good long while._

Ballard watched him go as he stood up. No doubt going to Sierra. "I think I'm going to miss her."

Topher ignored him and walked into his office. He certainly wasn't.   

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading.  
> I've had this written out for so long I just never could be bothered to post it so I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
